1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a capsule-type medical device that is introduced into a body of an individual to be examined and performs predetermined processing, a power supply apparatus that wirelessly supplies power to the capsule-type medical device from outside the body of the individual to be examined, and a power supply system that includes the capsule-type medical device and the power supply apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
A capsule-type endoscope that includes an image pickup function and a wireless function has appeared in the field of endoscopes. After being swallowed by an individual to be examined that is a subject for observation, the capsule-type endoscope travels through the inside of internal organs such as the stomach and small intestine along with the peristaltic movement thereof until being naturally excreted from the body of the individual to be examined. While travelling through the internal organs, the capsule-type endoscope sequentially picks up images of the inside of the internal organs using the image pickup function.
Image data that is picked up inside the individual to be examined by the capsule-type endoscope while travelling through the internal organs is sequentially transmitted to an external apparatus provided outside the subject by means of a wireless function such as wireless communication and stored in a memory. Because the individual to be examined carries the external apparatus including the wireless function and the memory function, the individual to be examined can carry out daily activities freely during the observation period from the time of swallowing the endoscope until excretion thereof. After picking up images, the images of the internal organs are displayed on a displaying section such as a display based on the image data stored in the memory of the external apparatus to thereby allow a physician to make a diagnosis.
A system that wirelessly supplies electric power to a capsule-type endoscope is disclosed, for example, in Japanese Patent No. 4080662. According to the aforementioned system, since a radio capsule (corresponds to a capsule-type endoscope) is kept inside an individual to be examined, electric power is supplied to inside the capsule-type endoscope by transmitting electric power into the capsule-type endoscope from the outside of the individual to be examined. According to this system, a power transmitting antenna is provided in an external apparatus, and a power receiving antenna is provided inside the capsule-type endoscope. The external apparatus supplies power into the capsule-type endoscope through the transmitting antenna and the receiving antenna to thereby enable observation operations of the capsule-type endoscope that is kept for an extended period of time inside the individual to be examined.
Further, a power supply apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 4089778 has a configuration in which electrical energy is induced in a power receiving coil of a capsule inside a body of an individual to be examined by a magnetic field that is generated by power transmission coils of three axes that are arranged in a wound manner on the body of the individual to be examined.